Category: new year

I hope you enjoyed my last post on my top 17 obsessions of 2017. Now that 2017 is officially going to be in our rear view mirror, it’s time to put all of our focus in 2018. I’m usually one of those people who rolls their eyes ((HARD)) at people who use the term “New Year, New Me”, but now I think every day, every moment is a chance to turn oneself into their newest and best version. You don’t have to wait until January 1st and if you do make January 1st your redo day and you “mess up” on January 3rd, than you have another moment to try to make it right. 2018 is a very important year for me and a year that I am really focused on making a great one. I want to get my crap eating under control, get my migraines at bay, get rid of my rosacea, tame my anxiety, improve my relationship with money and get in amazing shape for my wedding. In order to help me with all of these lofty goals for the next year, there are 4 “habits” I plan on dropping, and 4 “habits” I plan on picking up. Think of these as my New Year’s Resolutions.

4 to drop

* My reliance on packaged snacks*

I was raised on junk food and continue to be a huge junk food eater. It’s not good! I have never met a Twinkie, a Reeses or a Keebler Elf product I didn’t like. Even to this day when I get hungry at school I’m knocking on the snack closet looking for Twinkies. Even when I choose what I deem a healthy snack, it’s packaged. Now granted, a Larabar is WAY healthier than a Twinkie, but there’s no reason I can’t pack a baggie of berries with some cream to dip it in or some veggies and hummus. I always lean towards convenience and ease, even though I have the time to do more and treat myself better. This year I will not be relying on packaged snacks and instead only use it as a treat.

* Starting something and not seeing it through*

I can’t tell you how many exercise programs I’ve began or how many times I’ve started a posting schedule for my Younique business page and I do good for about a week and then totally slack off. Since consistency is my word of 2018, there’s no more of this! If I don’t think I can fully see something through, I’m not going to dive into it. And if I do begin something, I will do everything in my power to complete it to the best of my ability.

* My Diet Coke habit once and for all!*

This is a hard one, a super tough one! I love Diet Coke. It is a total vice of mine. I’ve definitely cut back in recent years. I only have it at home if someone purchases it for me (which is rarely) and I usually only have it at work for lunch. Being at one can a day for 4-5 days out of the week is a HUGE decrease. Since I have been on Christmas vacation I have only had it once while I was out to lunch with a friend. People have told me to have seltzer water as a replacement, but I don’t like seltzer, it just has to be a willpower thing to finally kick this bad habit.

* Getting anxious over what I think people mean*

I never really thought of myself as an anxious person until the last 10 years or so. Unfortunately, my anxiety has only gotten worse. Usually it is only limited to typical high stress situations, air travel or large crowds, but sometimes I give myself anxiety by overanalyzing and overthinking situations about what people say to me. No more of that. If someone is going to say something, they will say it to me and I can deal with it then. If not, I will not work myself into thinking something terrible.

4 to pick up

*Green smoothies with healthy add ins*

I think green smoothies are a great way for me to get in a serving or two of fruits and vegetables. Considering I am not a huge fruit and veggie eater, but am a big snacker I think this will help kill 2 birds, with 1 stone. Also, thanks to my girl The Skinny Confidential, I now have a list of healthy add-ins to try in my smoothies including collagen, pearl powder, matcha, etc.

* Fresh and clean snacking*

Image from dreamstime.com

As mentioned above, my reliance on packaged snacks is going to be SO 2017. 2018 will be all about clean, unprocessed snacks. It might mean a Larabar or 2 every now and then, but I am going to try to keep my snacking very Whole 30-like.

* Time blocking post work hours*

There have been so many evenings where Nick and I are like , “where did the time go?”, on a work night. I find myself being so mentally exhausted after work that I give myself permission to just crash on the couch and surf Youtube for hours. I want to use my time when I get home a lot more efficiently. This will include making a lot more dinners ahead of time, blocking out time for blogging, school work and things I enjoy.

* Reading more for pleasure*

Some of the books on my reading list

I love reading. There is nothing better than diving into a good book. However, I find myself wasting so much time after work that I don’t give myself the proper reading time I should and truly want to. Just today I cancelled a few magazines that I just let pile up and no longer enjoy reading so I could dedicate more time to checking books off of my very long reading list.

Late last week, I watched a video from one of my favorite Youtubers, Miss Trenchcoat. She is a productivity and organizational expert and she really helped me get into the organizational planner realm. The video I watched last week was, 10 Productive Things To Do Before 2018. You can watch it here! It really got me thinking to some things I would like to do prior to the New Year.

Here are my top 5 tasks I plan on tackling or implementing before 2018!

1. Organize my clothes and sell what I’m not wearing on Poshmark

I have so much clothes and I really only wear about 30% of my wardrobe. I got rid of a lot of my clothes prior to my move, I still want to get rid of a lot of the trendier pieces I bought on a whim or because they were on sale. I have had great luck selling a few things on Poshmark and will continue to use it to sell my unwanted goods.

2. Begin and get into the habit of gratitude of journaling

I have done so much reading about manifestation lately and a lot of begins with being grateful for what one has at the moment. Gratitude journaling is writing down things you are grateful for and reflecting on them. I think it’s a great practice to start to lead a more positive life by showing we are thankful for what we already have.

3. Incorporate daily smoothies into my diet

There are days where I know that I don’t even come close to meeting my fruit and vegetable intake goals. A smoothie is a great way to do so! I’m thinking of trying strawberries, mango, spinach and water to keep it lower calorie.

4. Meal plan

Over the summer I bought a fitness planner and I never used it! Over Thanksgiving break I purchased a wellness plan from one of my favorite Instagram fitness girls and it definitely inspired me to break out my fitness planner. For the next week I planned out 3 days worth of breakfasts, lunches and dinners and mid-week will plan out the rest of the week. It’s super motivating to see it written down and planned out.

5. Start my must read book list and finish 2 books a month

Lately I have been reading a lot of network marketing books and found myself craving just a good story. Prior to reading those network marketing books I hadn’t finished a book in months. Reading is something I genuinely enjoy and I need to carve out time for it. I want to make a must read list and alternate between non-fiction and fiction books.

Those are a few of the important habits that I am going to begin implementing now so I won’t have to worry about them being fad resolutions come 2018.

What are some tasks that you would like to accomplish or make habit before the Ne Year?